We recently connected with Reem Almawed and have shared our conversation below.

Reem, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I chose to answer this question because I am someone with the opposite perspective, someone who has a “regular job.” Ever since I was young, I have always had a love for both art and science, which is how I have come to find myself working in the healthcare industry while creating art and working with STRATUS in my free time. Back when I was in pharmacy school, I was often told by peers that they were surprised to learn I did not pursue a career in art or design. Now that I am working as a pharmacist, I do sometimes wish I had more time and resources to develop my skills as an artist, however, with my current lifestyle, I am able to have a stable income and not worry about things like losing relevance as an artist, which I believe is a particularly valid concern in the age of over-saturated social media. I personally cannot imagine myself in a different position right now, as pursuing an creative career would have been a gamble that I do not know I could have afforded when I was younger. That being said, I acknowledge that art is what makes me truly happy and feel accomplished. I am a believer that it is never too late to start something, so I have started to invest my free time into honing my skills, and who knows, maybe my career will undergo a pivot in the future!

Reem, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello! My name is Reem, I am a team member of the Edmonton BIPOC creative collective called STRATUS. By profession, I am a hospital pharmacist, but outside of work, I am passionate about creating, and I am extremely lucky to be able to call myself a member of the STRATUS team.

STRATUS is a non-profit organization focused on the process of film photography and experiential art. We have been giving artists a platform through collaborative publications and events that build community since 2020. Our 3 core values are:
1. Community – We focus on highlighting emerging artists, ensuring equitable community representation, and connecting community members at all our events.
2. Process – We believe in the process behind art, whether it be the meticulous and slow process of film photography, or illustration and animation done by hand.
3. Creativity – We aim to push the boundaries of creativity by collaborating with and inspiring others across different mediums, from film photography to design, to produce curated and original content.

Although we dabble in all avenues of art, our main activities comprise of practicing, promoting, and developing film photography, putting together interactive events showcasing local artists, and more recently, the creation of a ceramics studio. We are a small but growing organization willing to take risks in order to sustain art mediums and artists within our community.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Throughout the years of our activities, there have been many changes to our team members. STRATUS started as a group of young creators, mostly students, who had a shared passion for film photography. As we began to grow, we started generating publications and events at a pace that was not sustainable for some of our members, who like myself, have other jobs. After an event that required us to work at full capacity for several weeks straight, many of us did not feel that our hard work was rewarded as we had expected. There was significant burnout among the team, and some members had no choice but to halt their activities with STRATUS in order to maintain their work-life balance. This was an eye-opening experience, given that we all loved STRATUS and wanted it to succeed, but we had to acknowledge that we needed help.
We decided to take a 3-month break, and to consider employing the help of volunteers to alleviate the burden of administrative or mundane tasks from the core team members. This allowed us to return to our activities with renewed energy and passion for our goals. The year following our break, we successfully produced smaller events and collaborations at a more feasible pace, and we have actually grown our team to include members with similar interests and diverse skillsets.
Resilience is necessary in any artist’s journey, and it certainly played a huge role in why STRATUS has pulled through these tough times.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think some non-creatives may not understand that an artist’s relationship with their art is very personal, and it is not always so happy-go-lucky. I personally have spent a great deal of time in frustration, anger, sadness, and self-doubt over my art. At times, it might feel like an unhealthy relationship – you know it is causing you grief but you keep going back to it. I think all artists go through a time like this in our lives, and as demonstrated by the previous story, even creative groups can find themselves at a crossroads. Despite all this, I think art will always remain an integral part of our lives. I can’t think of any artists who quit creating, but I know many people who quit their corporate jobs to pursue artistic ventures instead. We grow from these negative feelings, and almost always we find ourselves returning to our respective medium, remembering why we first fell in love with it, and we continue developing our skills. Sometimes those negative feelings can be expressed creatively as well!

Contact Info:

• Website: stratusjournal.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/stratusjournal
• Facebook: facebook.com/stratusjournal
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/stratusjournal/

Image Credits
Kurt Bugasto James Ha Jordon Hon